New-Zealand, finally!

Yeah! I can finally write about this wonderful country, after having landed here a bit more than a month ago. Sorry for the delay but maintaining a blog up-to-date is a lot of work...

On the 11^th of December then, I made my way to the airport in Santiago de Chile and was ready to check-in, but only to be told that in order for the Quantas Airways agents to check me in and allow me on the flight I had booked and pre-paid, I needed an exit flight from New-Zealand. Yes, the New-Zealanders are really welcoming and as a European you don't need to arrange a visa beforehand (a tourist visa lasts for 3 months), but they also want to make sure you won't stay longer...

So in a bit of a panic, I had to run in the airport and find an internet spot and book (and pay) an exit flight from New-Zealand to Asia for 2 months later... Fortunately I had thought in the previous days about how long exactly I wanted to stay in Kiwikand but maybe I could have saved a bit of money trying to compare different flights if I had had more time. Anyway 30 minutes later, I came back to the check-in desk and could board the the plane without issues.

Conclusion: ALWAYS plan enough time to check-in to avoid panic rush and last minute urgencies like that. I had arrived 1 hour and a half before my flight and I was lucky I did otherwise I might have lost a lot of money and have had to book another flight...

However the flight I had booked wasn't direct so after flying over the edge of Antarctica (see picture of the icebergs on the right) I landed in Sydney and immediately boarded another plane in direction of Christchurch where I would spend the night (in the airport) before boarding another flight in the morning to Auckland. Not sure why the flight comparison website I had used to book my flight wanted me to do a stop-over in Christchurch but it was probably the cheapest flight combination at that time. Of course with that many connections, there is always something going slightly wrong and my backpack didn't follow me to Christchurch but instead was sent directly to Auckland the next morning. Not a big deal but I had to explain the problem to the immigration officers, persuade them that I wasn't a drug lord trying to smuggle illegal things in their country from South America, and manage to trace my bag to be sure I could collect it (after a full bag search obviously) in Auckland the next day.

Finally, on the afternoon of Friday the 13^th of December, I arrived in my hostel completely exhausted, after having spent more than 2 days (technically you "lose" one day when flying from South America to New-Zealand) in the air and airports. But I was here and my luggage as well! Phew!

Plane ready to be boarded! Yeah!

First leg to Sydney, 13 hours... Hopefully the movies on-board selection is good...

The route the plane will take

On the edge of Antarctica...

Auckland, finally!

Oh I forgot it was almost Christmas!! It's definitely a weird feeling to think of spending Christmas when it's hot and sunny... Where is the cold and snow??